I had 2 more fish die

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pettygil

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
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I had 2 more fish die. I check my water and everything is fine. should I do another water change. even though my water is fine? I had one dead glo fish and one eyed tetra die in my 20 gallon tank. My tank is cycled. I did a water change a few days ago. I did a liquid test on my tank and everything is fine. No Ammonia, no Nitrite, is in the tank, there is 5.0 Nitrate.
 
pictures and a description of the dead fish?
and pictures of the remaining live ones so we can check them for disease

have you added anything to the tank in the last 2 weeks?
 
Im going to throw this out there and see what everyone else thinks.

Every video and photo of this tank has a dead flat surface. The HOB filter has quite a bit of drop before the water from the filter hits the water in the tank, but doesnt seem to cause any ripples across the surface of the water. We dont have HOB filters here in the UK so i have no personal experience of them, but looking at this video does it look like O2 could be an issue?

https://youtu.be/P9MMX3rusA0

Corys seem to be doing fine in the tank, but they can get O2 by taking a gulp of air at the surface, whereas the fish that are consistently dying cant do this.

Might an airstone be a good idea to get more O2 in the water?
 
Im going to throw this out there and see what everyone else thinks.

Every video and photo of this tank has a dead flat surface. The HOB filter has quite a bit of drop before the water from the filter hits the water in the tank, but doesnt seem to cause any ripples across the surface of the water. We dont have HOB filters here in the UK so i have no personal experience of them, but looking at this video does it look like O2 could be an issue?

https://youtu.be/P9MMX3rusA0

Corys seem to be doing fine in the tank, but they can get O2 by taking a gulp of air at the surface, whereas the fish that are consistently dying cant do this.

Might an airstone be a good idea to get more O2 in the water?
Personally, I think this is just the end result of these fish going through the cycling process and of course, the wrong fish in the wrong sized tank. I also have no experience with keeping Glo-fish of any kind so I have to wonder about their expected lifespan especially since they are not babies when released for sale. In this case, the red eyes were a combination of larger ones and smaller ones so that too can be an issue.
With overflow filters, the biggest mistake people make is filling their tanks up too high. They are great for making splash if they are above the water line and that's great for oxygenation but they are worthless as oxygenators if the water line is too high so there is little to no splash. Usually, when the issue is lack of oxygen, all the fish will show signs not just one or two.
 
Its not just one or two though. They might not all be dying at the same time, but they are all dying.
Yes but oxygen starvation will usually kill all the fish within hours not days and the fish would all be up at the surface panting. When all the fish were hanging at the surface before, lowering the water level seemed to have solved the issue. No mention of the fish at the surface again even with the recent bacterial bloom.
 
Here is a video of my fish

pictures and a description of the dead fish?
and pictures of the remaining live ones so we can check them for disease.
I already took the trash out, the dead fish is gone.

have you added anything to the tank in the last 2 weeks?
No just conditioner.
Here is a video of my fish and of my filter. Let me know what you think. Also my Cory fish are hiding behind the fake plants.

 
Dead fish is gone in the trash

pictures and a description of the dead fish?
and pictures of the remaining live ones so we can check them for disease

have you added anything to the tank in the last 2 weeks?

The fish were dead, so I put in the trash and I took the trash out, so I do not have any dead fish on me. I do have a video of my other fishes. The cory fish always hide when I come to the tank, but the fish are hiding behind the fake plants.
 
The bacterial bloom was in my betta tank

Yes but oxygen starvation will usually kill all the fish within hours not days and the fish would all be up at the surface panting. When all the fish were hanging at the surface before, lowering the water level seemed to have solved the issue. No mention of the fish at the surface again even with the recent bacterial bloom.

The bacterial bloom was in my betta tank. not in my 20 gallon tank. Sorry about the confusion, And the The bacterial bloom is gone, it did not last long, maybe about 5 to 6 hours, then it was gone. I did not fill my tanks all the way to the top, cept the betta tank. But I make sure now, that I do not do that. I lower the water in my betta tank. And in my 20 gallon tank. I took a video of my fishes for you. Thanks.
 
I'm going to buy me a air stone, see if that helps.

Im going to throw this out there and see what everyone else thinks.

Every video and photo of this tank has a dead flat surface. The HOB filter has quite a bit of drop before the water from the filter hits the water in the tank, but doesnt seem to cause any ripples across the surface of the water. We dont have HOB filters here in the UK so i have no personal experience of them, but looking at this video does it look like O2 could be an issue?

https://youtu.be/P9MMX3rusA0

Corys seem to be doing fine in the tank, but they can get O2 by taking a gulp of air at the surface, whereas the fish that are consistently dying cant do this.

Might an airstone be a good idea to get more O2 in the water?

I'm going to buy me a air stone, see if that helps. This time I make sure not to fill the tank all the way to the top.. For all my tanks. My bettas are doing fine, They look good and are swimming, and eating. I did take a video of my fish in this thread, so maybe you can tell what is wrong.
 
The bacterial bloom was in my betta tank. not in my 20 gallon tank. Sorry about the confusion, And the The bacterial bloom is gone, it did not last long, maybe about 5 to 6 hours, then it was gone. I did not fill my tanks all the way to the top, cept the betta tank. But I make sure now, that I do not do that. I lower the water in my betta tank. And in my 20 gallon tank. I took a video of my fishes for you. Thanks.
Was this the last Betta tank to cycle?
 
Yes

Was this the last Betta tank to cycle?

yes it was the last tank to cycle. I also bought different filter for my Betta's. Supposed to be here tomorrow. I am using a sponge, which I am going to put into my betta tank.
 
No just conditioner.
Here is a video of my fish and of my filter. Let me know what you think. Also my Cory fish are hiding behind the fake plants.


From what I see, the issue is/was not oxygen starvation. You have fish that on a good day are not the hardiest of fish in a tank, that have gone through a rough patch, may not be too young to begin with, were mixed with different sized fish in their school and were not really the best fish for this sized tank. As I mentioned before, what happens in this type situation is that eventually the fish load will balance itself out. Also, the Tetras in the tank are some of the more aggressive types so could easily just be picking each other off for any number of reasons. Also, cory catfish do like to hide so them hanging behind the plants is not really anything to be concerned about since I did see one swimming out in front in the video.

Regarding your filter, the outflow does seem to be awfully slow. Make sure you have the setting ( if there is one) on a higher level and as a test, see if removing the filter material ( cartridge or floss or sponge) makes the outflow higher. If it does, your filter material is clogged and needs to be cleaned. Swish it in a bucket of tank water and if a cartridge, try to level out whatever carbon is inside of it so that the there aren't any thick places. If it doesn't change the outflow, adding an airstone will help increase the aeration in the tank but I doubt will change the issue with the fish but will increase the bacteria bed's ability to settle and multiply in other areas of the tank. They go to where the best oxygen levels are. (y)
 
yes it was the last tank to cycle. I also bought different filter for my Betta's. Supposed to be here tomorrow. I am using a sponge, which I am going to put into my betta tank.

So a bacterial bloom is not uncommon in newly or uncycled tanks. The other questions I asked do not apply. :whistle:
 
I bought me another 20 gallon filter.

So a bacterial bloom is not uncommon in newly or uncycled tanks. The other questions I asked do not apply. :whistle:

I bought me another 20 gallon filter. I did clean the filter sponge but flow is the same. I tried the filter settings but I still had the same flow in the tank.
 
I bought me another 20 gallon filter. I did clean the filter sponge but flow is the same. I tried the filter settings but I still had the same flow in the tank.
One thing to know is that when a filter is rated for say "up to 20 gallons", it's really not the right filter for a 20 gallon tank as the flow will reduce with time from sludge and clogged filter material. You'd be better off with a filter rated for up to a 30 gallon tank. You never want to use machines at their extremes. Keep in mind that this applies for fish that are active swimmers ( like Tetras) and not fish like your Bettas which are not used to struggling to swim due to the longer fins.
If you haven't opened your new filter, I'd return it and upgrade to a larger filter. (y)
 
I was able to cancel at Amazon, and re order

One thing to know is that when a filter is rated for say "up to 20 gallons", it's really not the right filter for a 20 gallon tank as the flow will reduce with time from sludge and clogged filter material. You'd be better off with a filter rated for up to a 30 gallon tank. You never want to use machines at their extremes. Keep in mind that this applies for fish that are active swimmers ( like Tetras) and not fish like your Bettas which are not used to struggling to swim due to the longer fins.
If you haven't opened your new filter, I'd return it and upgrade to a larger filter. (y)

I was able to cancel at Amazon, and re order for a filter for 30 Gallons. It will be arriving on Monday. The filter I have now is for a 20 gallon, so I had to upgrade. :thanks::dance:
I thought I was able to cancel but I received an email, saying I could not cancel my order. So I'll be getting two filters. I'll try to return it back, once I receive the other filter.
 
I had another Glo Fish die

I had another Glo Fish die. I now have 4 Glo fish. I used to have 10 Glo Fish and I also had 10 guppies that die on me. My water is fine. I have no ammonia no Nitrites. 5,0 Nitrates, I do weekly water changes of 50 percent. I just like to know why my fish keep dying. I also have 2 filters for my 20 gallon, tank. I just like to know what I'm doing wrong. I do not over feed.
 
I had another Glo Fish die. I now have 4 Glo fish. I used to have 10 Glo Fish and I also had 10 guppies that die on me. My water is fine. I have no ammonia no Nitrites. 5,0 Nitrates, I do weekly water changes of 50 percent. I just like to know why my fish keep dying. I also have 2 filters for my 20 gallon, tank. I just like to know what I'm doing wrong. I do not over feed.
It may have nothing to do with you. It is more likely the fish. When it's you or a tank issue, all the fish suffer at the same time. One by one is more likely a fish issue.
Here's an article you should read. https://fishlab.com/why-your-fish-a...any reasons why,died for no reason whatsoever. Pay close attention to #s 2,3 & 4.
 
Thank you

It may have nothing to do with you. It is more likely the fish. When it's you or a tank issue, all the fish suffer at the same time. One by one is more likely a fish issue.
Here's an article you should read. https://fishlab.com/why-your-fish-a...any reasons why,died for no reason whatsoever. Pay close attention to #s 2,3 & 4.

Thanks, I checked out the link you sent me. I went over the info a few times.
I do have a question.
I have 3 red eyed tetra and I should have 6 or more, should I buy 3 more tetras?
I have a 20 gallon tank.
With 9 Glo tetras, 3 red eyed tetras, 5 cory's, and one spotted baby cory, and 3 panda Cory's.
 
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